Question

I want to learn more about the history of China

Answer 1

Me too!! The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding,[1][2] referred to in the records as the twenty-first King of Shang.[3][4] Ancient historical texts such as the Book of Documents (early chapters, 11th century BC), the Bamboo Annals (c. 296 BC) and the Records of the Grand Historian (c. 91 BC) mention and describe a Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period, and Shang writings do not indicate the existence of the Xia. The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is among the world's oldest civilizations and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.[5][6]

Answer 2

First Opium War

The First Opium War (1840-1842) was an epoch-making event in Chinese history and the beginning of modern Chinese history. China was in a dominant position in trade with Britain at the time, making Britain extremely uneasy. After Humen sold out cigarettes in 1839, Britain used this as an excuse to launch a war of aggression. After the defeat, the Qing government was forced to sign the first unequal treaty in Chinese history. From then on, China began to move towards a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

1. The background of the war

On the eve of the Opium War, the Qing Dynasty was still an independent feudal country, and the natural economy always dominated. With the increasingly corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty and the aggravation of the exploitation and oppression of the people, the domestic class contradictions have become increasingly intensified, and the people's resistance struggles have emerged one after another, and the rule of the Qing Dynasty is facing a profound crisis. In the 1840s, after the industrial revolution of the Western capitalist countries, in order to expand the colony or sphere of influence, China naturally became the target of aggression and expansion.

2. The cause of the war

After the Industrial Revolution, the British bourgeoisie tried their best to sell industrial products to China, trying to open China's door with commodity trade, but the trade deficit has always existed. In order to change this situation, Britain began to smuggle opium in large quantities to China. The influx of opium brought serious harm to the Qing government and the people. The imperial commissioner Lin Zexu went to Guangdong to ban smoking. Later, the world-famous "Humen cigarette sales" occurred. The British started the war on the pretext that it violated their own interests in China.

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